Reliance Jio’s Entry Has Led to a Series of Mergers & Acquisitions in the Indian Telecom Industry. Voice Tariffs Are Close to Zero While Data Is Getting Cheaper by the Day. A Close Look at What the 4G Battle Could Mean for Telecom Subscribers. By Manu Kaushik
It’s a high stakes war to dominate India’s ₹2.6 lakh crore telecom sector. A corporate fight as brutal, intense, debilitating and bruising as that seen in the cash-guzzling e-commerce business. Indeed, the giants in both these sectors are involved in a game of one-upmanship for customer acquisition through attractive freebies which are burning a hole in their balance sheets. But that’s where the comparison ends, and the contrast begins. On every parameter, the telecom clash dwarfs the e-commerce battle: telecom has seen an investment of ₹9.27 lakh crore against about ₹71,000 crore in e-commerce; it employs 4 million against 0.35 million in e-commerce and its debt burden of ₹3.81 lakh crore is next only to the power sector in India. And, it’s a no holds barred contest in telecom for another reason. The winner will actually lord over the most precious commodity of the future: DATA.
Little wonder then that the incumbents Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Tata Tele services, besides Reliance Communications (RCom) and BSNL/MTNL, have taken on the challenge thrown by the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries’ bold and disruptive ₹2,00,000 crore telecom play, Reliance Jio. Retreating is not even an option. All the large players have invested between $15-20 billion besides raising a debt pile of between ₹50,000 crore to ₹1 lakh crore.
This story is from the April 23, 2017 edition of Business Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 23, 2017 edition of Business Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
"Hire for attitude, not ability"
Thryve Digital is a player in the healthcare technology sector delivering next-generation solutions
Road Warrior
For Khalid Wani, Senior Director of Sales at Western Digital India, life is much more than just the corner office. Biking across the world is one way he derives meaning for his life
WIDENING THE POOL
THERE HAS BEEN A JUMP IN INDIVIDUALS INVESTING DIRECTLY IN THE STOCK MARKETS, BUT MUMBAI AND AHMEDABAD STILL ACCOUNT FOR THE LION'S SHARE. THERE DEFINITELY IS SCOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TERMS OF PENETRATION LEVELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
CRISIS IN THE CLOUDS
INDIAN AVIATION IS IN CRISIS. AIRLINES ARE GRAPPLING WITH FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS, CREW SHORTAGES, AND COMPLAINTS ABOUT POOR SERVICE, ARE BLEEDING DUE TO RISING COSTS WILL THE FASTEST-GROWING AVIATION MARKET RECOVER?
"India should start privatising public sector banks"
Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, on growth, inequality, jobs, the banking sector, and more
THE DARK SIDE OF GOLD LOANS
THERE HAS BEEN A SHARP RISE IN GOLD LOANS IN RECENT YEARS. BUT THERE IS A SEEDIER SIDE TO THIS, AS IS EVIDENT FROM THE RED FLAG THE RBI RAISED RECENTLY. WILL THE REGULATOR'S MOVE PROTECT CUSTOMERS?
"I LET MY WORK DO THE TALKING"
Megha Engineering & Infrastructures MD P.V. Krishna Reddy on being low profile, the infra opportunity and much more
"Core of insurance lies in long-term security"
Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO of HDFC Life, on the insurance provider's performance, surrender charges, and future innovations
Distress in the Books
Bandhan Bank, the brainchild of Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, has made the journey from an MFI to a bank, but with many hurdles. Now with his resignation as MD & CEO, is the lender staring at more uncertainty?
A Stellar Debut
The TAC Infosec IPO saw bids worth ₹8,417.33 crore pouring in, thanks to intense bidding from all categories of investors